LS&Co. Unzipped

Welcome to our blog. Here’s where you’ll find a “behind-the-seams” look at what’s going on with Levi Strauss & Co. You’ll hear from a variety of voices, from both inside and outside the company. And you have the chance to share your thoughts. So read on — and weigh in!

May 19 2011

The Birth of Blue Jeans

138 years ago today, our company founder, Levi Strauss, and Reno tailor Jacob Davis received U.S. patent number 139,121 for the process of strengthening men’s work pants with copper rivets. 

What does this mean?

Nothing less than the invention of blue jeans. In fact, we call it the “birthday” of blue jeans.  We couldn’t find a cake big enough for everyone, but we did put together our top ten list of fun tidbits for you to nibble on. 

Enjoy!

1. All over overalls
Among the first people to wear jeans were laborers. The traditional name of the pants were "overalls" until the 60s, when the more modern term "jeans" was first used.

2. Not a jeans kind of guy
Levi Strauss himself never wore a pair of jeans.  In 1873, by the time they were first created, they were pants for laboring men, not mature, wealthy businessmen.

3. Tough horses
The Two Horse® brand leather patch was introduced in 1886. Its purpose was to demonstrate the strength of the pants and reinforce our status as the originator of patent-riveted clothing.

4. Lone pocket
Levi’s® jeans only had only one back pocket for several years. In 1901 a second back pocket was added.

5. Ladies love Levi’s®
In the fall of 1934, the company introduced “Lady Levi’s® jeans” – the world’s first jeans made exclusively for women

6. World's Oldest Pair of Jeans
Dubbed the "XX,"  these Levi's® brand jeans were made in 1879 and are stored in a guarded fire-proof safe at the Levi Strauss & Co. Archives in San Francisco, Calif. They’re currently valued at over $150,000.

7. Denim tux
Global celebrity Bing Crosby was a huge fan of the Levi’s® brand. In 1951 we presented him with a custom Levi’s® denim tuxedo jacket made from the same denim used for 501® jeans.

8. Ring the bells
Levi Strauss & Co.'s first bell bottoms came along in 1969, initially in denim and then in blends of every fabric imaginable.

9. Olympic gold
In the years 1980 and 1984, Levi's® was the official outfitter for the Olympic Games.

10. Jean-etic transformation
Inside the walls of the newly remodeled Levi Strauss & Co. headquarters in San Francisco, there are 25,500 pairs of jeans in the form of recycled-denim insulation.

Posted By: Mia Rubie, Associate Editor, LS&Co. Unzipped

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Tags: Denim,Fashion,Levi Strauss & Co.,Levi's®,Style

Before posting your comment, please read the Blog Guidelines.

Zoë (not verified) - Jan 12 2013

Hi there! I'm a student from Belgium and i'm doing my thesis about the history about the Jeans. Can you help me please with some specific information about the real start of the blue jeans and about a biography about Levi Strauss becaus wikipedia isn't enough. Thank a lot! Zoë

Editor's note: Hi Zoe, and thanks for writing. As you might guess, we receive a lot of inquiries from students and others interested in the company, our products and our founder, Levi Strauss. So while we don't have time to respond personally to every such request, we have posted quite a bit of information on this website. Look under the About section and click on Heritage. There you'll find a company timeline, a biography of Mr. Strauss, a brief history of denim and more. I'd also recommend a book by our company historian, Lynn Downey. It's called Levi Strauss & Co., published by Arcadia Publishing in 2007. Good luck with your thesis!

raf (not verified) - May 25 2011
no-body knew, happy birthday

gwen (not verified) - May 21 2011
we always called the bib type "overalls" because they really did go over top & bottom.

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